Flying-machine



c. E. AND we. HICKS.

FLYING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 24, 1921.

1,398,781. Patented Nov. 29, 1921.

-%wwmw- A TTORNEYS UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES E. HICKS AND WILLIAM G. HICKS, OF MECHANICSVILLE, NEW YORK.

FLYING-MACHINE. I

To alZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, CHARLES E. Hroxs and WILLIAM G. HICKS, both citizens of the United States, and both residents of Mechanicsville, in the county of Saratoga and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Flying-Machines, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

Our invention relates to a flying machine, and aims to provide certain improvements in connection with a device of this character commonly known as a helicopter. I

It is well appreciated that considerable difliculty has been experienced in connect on with the construction of a flying machine of the helicopter type, which would exert an effectual lifting force sufiicient to result in a lifting of the fuselage, motor associated with said fuselage, together with the weight of an operator, as well as providing a fa1r margin of lift and excess, to the pull necessary for overcoming the gravltatlonal force exerted upon the elements aforenamed.

Also in most instances, where a propeller has been of sufiicient size, the motive power has been insuflicient to effect an efficient operation thereof, although in some types of flyin machines, of this nature, it has been poss1 1e to balance the propeller area in ratio with the weight of the engine and power produced thereby, with that degree of nicety which will achieve a lift sufficient to raise the entire machine and operator from a supporting surface.

'With this in view, "we have provided a flying machine, and more particularly a hell copter, which shall present lifting surfaces capable of exerting a maximum pull with but a minimum effort.

A further object of our invention is the provision of a device of the character stated in which the pull exerted by the lifting elements will be constant, irrespective of the speed with which thesame are operated.

Further objects of our invention will ap- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 29, 1921..

Application filed February 24, 1921. Serial No. 447,460.

line 3-3 and in the direction ofthe arrows indicated in Fig. 1.

Referring now more particularly to Figs. 1 and 2 it will be seen that the reference numeral 5'indicates the fuselage which may be of any desirable type and construction, and which suitably mounts a motor 6 serving to drive, through any desirable transmission, a pair of shafts or sleeves 7, preferably in llne with each other, each of these latter elements being rotated in opposite directions according to the usual procedure.

It is also to, be noted that these sleeves whlch serve as mountings for the independent helicopter elements hereinafter more fully described, may preferably be secured to the fuselage in such a manner as to permit of aninclination-of the same with respect to this latter member, so that the pull exerted by the helicopter elements may be exerted in an inclined plane resulting in a movement of the fuselage horizontally with the air.

All of the foregoing construction may be of any desirable type, and may be varied ac cording to the conditions encountered, and

type of machine desired, the essence of our invention residmg in the helicopter elements.

These elements, as will be noted, reference ployed, which latter extend between the sleeves 7 and the airfoils.

The lifting capacity and theory involved in the passage of an airfoil through the atmosphere is well known, and it is thus the object of our invention to primarily provide independent helicopter elements which shall not alone be superior to ordinary propellers utilized in this capacity, in that they are in the form of a helix, but shall further improve this construction in that each of their bodies is composed of a plurality of independent airfoils which in turn each present a.

leading and trailing area, and independent lifting surfaces similarto one wing of a conventional airplane.-

It will thus be understood that we have constructed a flying machine more particularly in the nature of a helicopter, which shall exert a maximum lift upon its independent elements being actuated, this lift being accomplished by the expenditure of but a relatively small amount of energy.

It will also be appreciated that numerous modifications of structure might readily be resorted to Without in the least departing from the scope of our claims, which are:

1. A helicopter including a helical-shaped body, comprising a plurality of lifting elements arranged in spaced relation to and above one another, the rear edge of one of said lifting elements lying in a plane spaced from the forward edgeof the next one, said lifting elements having their radial length greater than their segmental Width.

2. A helicopter including a worm-shaped body, a rotatable shaft mounting said wormshaped body, a plurality of rods radiating outwardly from said shaft, spaced members associated with said rods, cambered lifting elements secured to said spaced members,

said lifting elements being in spaced relation to and above one another with the leading edge of one in aplane spaced from the trailing edge of the other.

3. A helicopter including a plurality of worm-shaped elements, a plurality of shafts mounting said elements, means to rotate said shafts in opposite direction, air-foils associated with said worm-shaped elements, said air-foils having cambered surfaces, each of said airfoils having its leading edge disposed tothe rear of the training edge of the preceding airfoil.

4. helicopter presenting a worm-shaped body, comprising cambered air-foils arranged in spaced relation toand above one another so the leading edge of one lies in a plane spaced from the rear edge of the other, a rotatable shaft, rods radiating outwardly from said shaft and spaced members associated with said rods and mounting said airfoils.

OHARLES E. HICKS. WILLIAM G. HICKS, 

